Richard Williams, better known by the stage name Prince Ea, is a motivational speaker, an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, and filmmaker. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a full scholarship and a degree in Anthropology, he initially pursued a career as a hip hop artist. Inspired by artists like Immortal Technique and Canibus, he started and popularized the “Make S.M.A.R.T. Cool” movement to promote values like intelligence, free thought, unity, and creativity in hip hop music and culture.

In 2014, Prince Ea shifted his focus from music to creating motivational and inspirational spoken word films and content. His YouTube videos have received over two billion views, and he covers a wide range of topics such as environmentalism, race, work-life balance, and spirituality. He credits his shift in perspective to the inspiration of ancient wisdom texts, such as the Tao Te Ching and Bhagavad Gita.

Some of his most popular videos and creations include:

• Before You Catch the Virus – Watch This (2020): over a million YouTube views on his most recent motivational speech around not allowing fear to conquer us in the times of coronavirus.
• Dear Future Generations: Sorry: over 20 million views on YouTube, his most popular motivational speech about the destruction of our world and the urgent need to address climate change.
• Can We Auto-Correct Humanity: over 20 million views as well, about the dangers of using technology all the time and the need to spend more time ‘unplugged’ for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Today, when he’s not creating, motivational speaker Prince Ea speaks at conferences and gives lectures to high school and university students nationwide on the topics of self-development, living your passion, and the importance of being motivated and engaged in the classroom.

Prince Ea’s work is widely recognized including Oprah’s Super Soul 100 and Forbes 30 Under 30.